Spike Lee is turning to some familiar faces to help round out the cast of his Oldboy remake. After adding his Do the Right Thing star Samuel L. Jackson a few weeks back, Lee is turning to his Red Hook Summer actor Nate Parker for another supporting role. The up-and-comer’s other credits include Arbitrage, Red Tails and The Secret Life of Bees.

A remake of Chan-wook Park‘s hit South Korean thriller, Oldboy centers around a man (Josh Brolin) out to exact revenge on the person who kidnapped and imprisoned him for mysterious reasons. Sharlto Copley plays the villain, while Elizabeth Olsen co-stars as a woman who aids and romances Brolin’s character. Parker is in talks to play a doctor colleague of Olsen’s. Oldboy will shoot this fall, likely for a 2013 release. [Variety]

After the jump, Carrie and The Evil Dead get synopses, and José Padilha responds to talk of Robocop difficulties.

The search has been on for a new Robocop villain since last week, when negotiations with Hugh Laurie fell through. For a hot second it looked like Clive Owen could step up to replace him, but now word is that it’s actually Michael Keaton who’ll take over the part instead.

It seems like good news, if only because it means more big-screen appearances for Keaton. The former Batman and Beetlejuice actor fits right into a star-studded cast that also includes Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley,Jay Baruchel, Michael K. Williams, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and lead Joel Kinnaman. More details after the jump.

There has been a lot of talk about reboots of well-loved ’80s/’90s sci-fi lately, thanks to Total Recall, the news about Videodrome, and the development of a new RoboCop, to be directed by Elite Squad helmer Jose Padilha.

The general consensus is that a director with little studio experience is brought in to make a reboot like RoboCop not only because of his skillset, but because a relative inexperience with the studio system means it is easier for the studio to get what it wants out of a reboot. (Which often means: something bland, broad, and gently palatable. Or, in terms RoboCop fans might recognize, a rudimentary paste, maybe something that tastes like baby food.)

RoboCop has had some small public issues, such as the departure of potential villain Hugh Laurie, and a not terribly positive script review that hit Twitter, but those aren’t things terribly out of the ordinary. Now, however, director Fernando Meirelles (City of God; 360), a friend of Padilha, makes the production sound like one in which the director is really fighting for every little element of the film. Read More »

José Padilha‘s Robocop remake has been adding one award-winning talent after another for the past few months, but now casting is taking one step back. Hugh Laurie has just backed out of the villain role, after entering talks back in June. Still remaining in the film are lead Joel Kinnaman, plus Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jennifer Ehle, Jackie Earle Haley, Jay Baruchel, Michael K. Williams, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. More details after the jump.

Update:Deadline reports that Clive Owen is one of the actors MGM is talking to as options to replace Laurie. More info as confirmation comes. Hit the jump for the rest of Angie’s original report.

In two short hours on Saturday evening, expectations for Jose Padilha‘s remake of RoboCop plummeted from their already low perch. Film journalist Drew McWeeny got his hands on the script to remake of the 1987 cult classic and tweeted a slew of specific details, most of which are really bad. The new film, which has already begun its viral marketing aimed at a release just under one year from now (August 9, 2013), has an incredible cast lined up including Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson and Hugh Laurie, but, if McWeeny is to be believed, the script is a major mess. He tweeted about several of the action set pieces currently scripted, lines of dialogue that reference the original film and some new, spoilery changes, to the character himself.

Read his comments after the jump and also find out details about a potential return (yes, again) to The Amityville Horror franchise as well as a short, sweet video about one of the best action scenes in Len Wiseman’s Total Recall. Read More »

We hoped at one point that Michael K. Williams, aka Omar from The Wire, might end up playing the title role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. That didn’t happen, but it hasn’t stopped him from getting other great work. In addition to his recurring role on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, Williams ended up doing a stint on Community, and has a part in Steve McQueen’s new film Twelve Years a Slave.

And now he’s going to Detroit (well, actually Toronto, but sshh) for Jose Padilha‘s remake of RoboCop. Read More »

As one Paul Verhoeven remake plops into theaters, another one is gearing up to start shooting. Fortunately for us, Jose Padilha‘s RoboCop already looks much more promising than Len Wiseman’s Total Recall ever did.

For one thing, Padilha is assembling a top-notch cast. Joel Kinnaman has been set to play the lead for some time now, but in the last few months Padilha’s been busy locking down some other interesting talents like Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, Samuel L. Jackson, and Hugh Laurie. The newest member of that roster is now Jennifer Ehle, a two-time Tony winner last seen in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and the CBS drama A Gifted Man. More details after the jump.

José Padilha has rounded up an impressive array of talent for his new Robocop remake, and the latest additions are no exception. A new report has surfaced today indicating that Jackie Earle Haley is now signed on, while Jay Baruchel is said to be circling a key role. The two join a cast that already includes Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Laurie, Abbie Cornish, and of course, Joel Kinnaman as Robocop himself. More details after the jump.

That image above is a shot of the redesigned ED-209 automated security sentry drone from OmniCorp — you may remember the original ED-209 as the roaring, bullet-spitting hulk that went haywire in a boardroom demonstration and lead to the funding of RoboCop. (The funding of the fictional project/character, that is, not the funding of the original film.)

This image and the video that lies below the jump were revealed today as part of the early viral marketing campaign for Jose Padilha‘s new RoboCop, which will star Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Samuel L. Jackson and Hugh Laurie. The film is set for August 9, 2013, but you can see the new ED, and seemingly a tease of RoboCop, below. Read More »

After eight seasons of playing the stubborn, selfish, and mean-spirited — but ultimately helpful — Dr. Gregory House on TV, Hugh Laurie is about to go full-on evil for the big screen. The Brit actor has just signed on for José Padilha‘s upcoming remake for MGM of Paul Verhoeven‘s 1987 sci-fi classic Robocop, in the role of the villainous Omni Corp CEO. Laurie joins an intriguing cast that includes lead Joel Kinnaman, and co-stars Gary Oldman, Abbie Cornish, and Samuel L. Jackson. More details after the jump.